[Epoch Times, January 13, 2022](The Epoch Times reporter Shi Ping and Zhou Hanyin reported in New York) The flight from JFK airport in New York to Shanghai, China on the 12th may be the last flight before the Beijing Winter Olympics .
A few days ago, China canceled a large number of flights from the United States, causing many Chinese who plan to return home before the Chinese New Year to stay in the United States. And future travel dates are uncertain. Although tickets have been available online since March, according to China’s “circuit breaker” policy, no one can tell when it will be completed.
The Associated Press reported on the 11th that American Airlines said that China has cancelled dozens of flights to China, tightening its already severe epidemic restrictions.
Buying a flight to China is like buying a lottery ticket
Ye Qiusheng, head of New York-based Universal Vacations, said their business had plummeted by 90 percent after the Omicron variant broke out, and almost all the customers who called had changed their tickets.
“I have a guest who changed the ticket a total of 6 times.” He told the newspaper that although the reasons for the guest to change the ticket are various, the biggest problem at present is that the flight schedule cannot be determined. If the flight before the scheduled flight is infected with the virus, then you have to wait at least two weeks, and it is not known whether there are any vacancies on the flight after two weeks; even if you get a ticket, you don’t know if you can leave at that time. “So I said, buying a ticket now is like buying a lottery ticket.”
On January 12, at JFK airport in New York, a mother and daughter were blocked at the airport. The reason is that two people only “snatched” one ticket.
Due to the epidemic, Ms. Qiu plans to bring her daughter back to China for Chinese New Year, and send her daughter to study abroad when the epidemic improves. However, it was only a few days ago that they grabbed a ticket with a high price of 60,000 yuan. Less than two hours before the plane took off, they were fortunate enough to run into a woman, Zhang, who spent $3,000 in September last year to book a ticket for her mother who came to visit family on January 12 this year, but later Received two tickets.
Therefore, the two decided to change the extra ticket to Ms. Qiu’s daughter’s name. However, JFK’s Eastern Airlines counter stated that they did not have on-site ticket signing services during the epidemic. The only way to change the ticket is by phone, but the phone call for more than an hour was unsuccessful.
“I originally wanted to take my daughter back, but now I can’t buy a ticket.” She told reporters, bursting into tears, “I’m about to collapse.”
In the end, the mother and daughter could not buy another ticket, and could only lose a high-priced ticket and stay in the United States.
JFK China Eastern Airlines employee: Or the last flight from New York to China before the Winter Olympics
According to the counter staff of JFK China Eastern Airlines, the flight from New York to Shanghai on the 12th may be the last flight from New York to China before the Winter Olympics.
“When will the next flight leave, we have to wait for China’s notice.” The counter said, “At present, China does not allow more people to go back, especially the Winter Olympics are about to start; maybe after the Olympics, there will be flights back to China. “
Ye Qiusheng said that the Winter Olympics, Chinese New Year and the high infection rate of Omicron in the United States may all be the reasons for China to cancel flights.
“We remind our guests not to go back without a necessary reason,” he said.
According to the “circuit breaker” policy notice issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China in April last year, if the number of infected persons on a flight entering China reaches 5, the flight will be suspended for 2 weeks from the date of occurrence; if it reaches 10, the flight will be suspended for 4 weeks; If there are 10 cases in two consecutive shifts, it will be blown off immediately and the operation will be suspended for 8 weeks; if it reaches 30 cases, it will be blown off immediately and the operation will be suspended for 4 weeks.
Airlines for America, a trade association representing companies such as United, Delta, American and others, told Yahoo Finance that airlines are “concerned about the impact of disrupted flights and are continuing to assess the impact on operations” and that they are “Communicate with the U.S. and Chinese governments to find a way to minimize the impact on travelers.” ◇
Responsible editor: Li Yue#
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